Checked the coolant this morning before starting the bus at 4 degrees this morning. Warmed it up and still full as I left for work. Stopped for coffee 18 miles away and checked again. Coolant still full. Drove home after work and still good to go. Hoping for the best here.

Checked the coolant this morning before starting the bus at 4 degrees this morning. Warmed it up and still full as I left for work. Stopped for coffee 18 miles away and checked again. Coolant still full. Drove home after work and still good to go. Hoping for the best here.

lets hope for good things that the coolanbt in the oil is Solved!! you were mentioning a wastegate.. but that turbo is like mine and isnt waste gated.. these are actually pretty nice turbos .. the 444E got better turbos than the fords got.. they are decently big.. 56mm wheel with 1.00 AR for both turbine and compressor.. they dont do great at the lower RPM's. but a wickedwheel2 will solve that issue from what I understand.. on mine I see boost of 20-21 PSI at 2400-2500 RPM and that helps keep the EGTs in check. getting rid of the EBPV altogether is a great thing to do.. those things are the source of oil Leaks in a lot of cases..

Drove the bus to and from work again today and the coolant level never moved. I am going to say this is a win! I am very confident this is solved because when it was using coolant, the tank emptied pretty quickly because I check my fluids constantly.

If there was an engine issue like a head gasket, I would totally repair it because I have done about 3 head removals on Powerstroke engines.

If it turned out to be a cracked block, I would not hesitate to drop in a reman or known good used engine in the bus.

The reason I say this is because for coolant to get in the oil, the leak would have to be where the oil pressure is lower than the coolant pressure when the engine is running. That is not possible. If the engine is turned off when hot, then the oil pressure goes to 0 and the still pressurized coolant would find it's way into the oil. First suspect would be the cooler or cooler gaskets. I replaced the whole thing to be sure and got lucky. I could have totally wiped out my bearings if I did not catch this as soon as I did.

The oil cooler failing is a fairly common thing on these engines.. as for pulling heads, I’ve heard of flat lifters on powerstrokes and in navistar infinite wisdom they out hydraulic lifters in a position that the only way to retrieve them is remove the head..

Your experience is perfect example for why we should check our fluids often and listen and notice signs that something is not right when the bus acts differently than we are used to.. ie you checked the coolant right away after the heater wasn’t working right and then pulled the oil cap.. yeah you caught it early! Good for sure!
Christopher

My bus is no longer a "Slow Turd" after the modifications I have done so far along with the help from cadillackid. If you all remember one of my first posts, it was about the bus I drove before I purchased it. I called it a "Slow Turd" because it really was. After buying the bus and then making sure it was all caught up on maintenance, these are the things that brought this bus to life........

1) Straight pipe the exhaust by removing the muffler and replacing it with exhaust pipe.

2) Meeting up with cadillackid to have the horsepower config changed from 190 to 210

3) Installing the EBPV delete kit with new pedestal and turbo outlet.

The combination of these three things was the best improvements to waking up this engine! After driving the bus all this week to work I notice how the bus accelerates faster, maintains speed better, and climbs hills like they aren't even there. I no longer hold up traffic when starting from a stop or climbing even the slightest of hills.

The best part is the sounds! The exhaust tone from the tailpipe on my bus is so freaking cool! It's not loud, but the deep tone along with the whistle of the turbo makes it turn head as I go by. Especially all the diesel pickup guys I go by. Sitting in the driver's seat the turbo can be heard all the time now! When pulling a hill that turbo whistle winding up is like music to my ears. I used to listen to the stereo to drown the engine noise. Now I leave it off so I can hear the power from this beast!

There are no more modifications planned for my bus unless issues develop. For instance, if I need to replace the injectors, I will install the Stage 1 injectors. If the turbo needs work I will rebuild it with a Wicked Wheel 2.

I need to get my exhaust straightened out.. I already have a non EBPV pedestal.. I have stage 1 injectors in a box I never put in yet.. plus im thinking ill WW2 the turbo like you, too..
now if Ohio weather would just make it easier to work on stuff....
-Christopher